Month: August 2017

Pokémon Go was all the rage for a few months. People would flock to areas trying to catch a rare pokémon. Charizards would lead to pushing and screaming. Groups of people were playing. Big or small, old or young, a pro or newbie. Everyone played. Pidgeys, Rattatas, Caterpies were becoming a nuisance. Cars stopped in the middle of the road to get pokéstops. People who never exercised were getting on bikes again. Walking to get a 10km egg to hatch. Swiping at the screen and cursing when you ran out of pokéballs.

Months passed and many people stopped playing. Now pokéstops were left unturned. Charizards ignored. Eggs left unhatched and unwanted. Were pidgeys even considered a nuisance if there was no one to annoy them with?

Elle decided to download the Pokémon Go app again once it was released that the second generation of pokémon were going to be added to the game. Was anyone going to be playing? Elle retrieved pokéballs from pokéstops. Caught Furrets, Murkrows, Spinaraks, realizing they were the new nuisances. She didn’t ride her bike anymore to catch pokémon and instead drove. Never passing by someone that seemed to be playing. There’s no way people could have still been playing.

It was almost midnight when Elle saw the silhouette of one of the legendary birds on the app’s radar. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she screamed. She screamed so loud, quickly covering her mouth and hoping she hadn’t woken up her parents. She tiptoed, still in her pajamas, grabbing her car keys. She needed to get the legendary pokémon and didn’t want anyone stopping her.

She drove to the gas station two minutes from her house. She parked as close as she could to where the radar was telling her to go and still nothing. The legendary Pokémon didn’t show up. There was just another stupid pidgey.

She sighed and rubbed her face before slowly getting out of the car. She needed this legendary. She scanned the area before heading towards the small fountain next to the gas station. No one was here. There wouldn’t be. No one played anymore. Her feet thumped on the ground. She was on a mission. She kept her eyes glued on her phone, making sure she wouldn’t miss the legendary if it popped up.

That’s when it happened. Articuno appeared and she squealed, quickly tapping on the floating blue ice bird to catch it. She swiped strategically on the screen, making sure the ultra ball hit the bird. The ball twitched once. Twice. Three times. She caught it! She fist pumped into the air.

“Did you catch it?” a deep voice said.

Elle quickly looked up and saw a boy maybe around her age sitting on the edge of the fountain. Her eyes widened. Was he there the whole time? How did she not notice him?

“What?” she questioned. Pushing her blonde hair out of her face.

He smirked, the light from the gas station illuminating his face and his bright green eyes, “You’re playing Pokémon, right?”

“How could you tell?”

“No one in their right mind would be outside this late, swiping on their phone, and squealing.”

Elle glanced at the phone in his hand, showing a blue and green screen and a figure standing in the middle of it. He was playing too. “Well, I guess we’re the biggest nerds on this planet. There’s no way any smart person could pass on a legendary bird. I’m Elle, by the way.”

He laughed this time. Putting his right hand out for me to shake, “Matt.”